“To the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.” (Ephesians 1:6)

To be “accepted in the Beloved” is one of the most amazing consequences of the redemptive work at Calvary. The word “accepted” in the original Greek language is charitoo, which is closely related to the word for grace or charis. Charitoo refers to being “highly favored”, “much graced”, “graced with high honour”, and “divine pleasure of affectionate approval’. This word depicts an object of special affection dearly loved by God. It is a status of favour, and is a reflection of our Abba Father’s affectionate love. This word (charitoo) only appears one other time in the New Testament, which is in Luke 1:28 when the angel appeared to Mary and said, “Rejoice, highly favoured one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women.” The phrase, “highly favoured” describes the favourable standing Mary had in the eyes of God. Indeed, she was the choice servant, preferred above others, specially selected for the holy task (to be the mother of Jesus). In short, charitoo describes a person who is esteemed highly, a person who is bestowed with a special affection, much like the darling or the apple of one’s eye. Mary was God’s favourite child!

To be accepted by the Lord is never a haughty segregation. It does not come with the status of elitisms. To be accepted can be interpreted as “graced with much grace”. We received much favour because of the great love of God. Acceptance by God refers to a unique status of favour, which is bestowed through the Blood of the Cross. Favour is a status of grace, not a status of achievement. Acceptance by God does not come with a mindset of being exclusive, but rather an utter embrace of His grace. As New Testament believers, we are all equal recipients of God’s saving grace, and therefore equal beneficiaries of the glory of His grace.

Spend sometime to ponder over this comforting revelation: Our Heavenly Father will not love us any more (or less) in the future than He does right now. Indeed, God loves us with an everlasting love

God is visiting His people again with fresh favour, empowering them with great showers of prosperity. Never put yourself down. If you are a Christian, you are not an outcast or a miserable worm. You are “charitoo” – baptized with the favour of His love!